"A restaurant is fixed in time and place—Menu Extra is not."

By the time the sun dips over Hochelaga, the room is blushing. Studio Giovanelli’s factory windows catch the sky's molten pinks and darkening blues, letting in the last of the sunlight to shine against works by artist Dan Climan. There’s an eight-course tasting menu ahead, but right now, artwork on the walls and a sculpture casting a long shadow serve as conversation pieces.

The line between dinner and design blurs. That's an almost-typical enigmatic dining experience by Montreal's Menu Extra for you.

When asked what this project was meant to be from the start, "the goal was never to replace the restaurant experience," says chef Francis Blais. "From the beginning, our mission has been to create unforgettable ephemeral moments through our craft, both in the kitchen and in hospitality."

"The only real difference is that a restaurant is fixed in time and place," sommelier and maître d’hôtel Alexis Demers adds.

"Menu Extra is not."

Pogos and pithiviers

Blais and Demers didn’t set out to reinvent the wheel. At the start, Menu Extra was “a small restaurant project in an industrial building,” as Demers puts it. But the timing of its launch around spring 2020 rewired everything to the point that white-tablecloth ambitions became improvisations.

They served upscale pogos at the now-closed Boxermans in Outremont, reimagined pizzaghettis at Moccione, and raised over $30,000 for local charities in a string of sold-out pop-ups that merged technique with irreverence.

“At the heart of it all is our desire to bring people together, to execute dishes with care, and to share good wine,” Blais says. “The settings have evolved, but we still love a block party.”

That early DNA—culinary flexing sharing a tightly woven helix with cultural remixes—still lingers in their now more elaborate experiences.

“Playfulness has no meaning without technical virtuosity in our kitchen.”

“Catering has often been seen as a lesser version of a restaurant,” Demers adds. “We aim to change that.”

Also instrumental in shaping Menu Extra’s early years was chef Camilo Lapointe-Nascimento, who co-founded the project alongside Blais, Demers, and creative director Martin C. Pariseau. A fellow alum of Le Mousso and winner of Les Chefs!, Camilo played a key role in defining the culinary direction of Menu Extra before announcing his departure in August 2023.

Well before anyone lined up for lasagna or laid eyes on a koji-aged filet of beef, Menu Extra was meant to besomething else entirely: a miso company. The original concept was to build a fermented condiment brand rooted in Japanese techniques but using Quebec-grown ingredients—corn, squash, yellow peas, barley.

Even now, the spirit of that project lingers through preservation, transformation, and terroir. It explains the obsession with foundational elements of seasoning, texture, and balance while revealing the deeper technical throughline in the cooking Menu Extra is known for: More than flair, even if Blais and Demers insert some bombast into the delivery of a dinner.

No brick, no mortar, no dead time

As for the secret sauce of Menu Extra, it's by no means restricted to wining and dining. 'Experiential' is a descriptor often tossed around, but it takes on a different dimension with a project like this: It’s the precision of timing, the texture of the light, the feeling of being seen from the moment you arrive.

Every event is a new build and “every event begins with the space itself,” says Blais. “We take the time to understand its constraints, and its potential… From water access to kitchen flow, from sound to waste management, every detail supports the moment we want to create.”

"The only real difference is that a restaurant is fixed in time and place—Menu Extra is not."

Their most recent art-world collaboration with Montreal artist Dan Climan, a four-night pop-up at Studio Giovanelli in Hochelaga, merged gastronomy with visual art, without turning the dining room into a theme park. “It’s built around the guest: how they’ll feel when they enter the room, what they’ll notice, what they’ll taste,” Blais adds.

The team approached the space like they would any site: as a blank canvas layered with potential, not gimmickry. “From the very beginning, we were aligned on the look and feel of what we wanted to create,” adds Sam de La Courtemanche, Menu Extra’s creative director.

That guest-first mindset is threaded through every detail, from the way wine is poured to the moment music kicks in. “We’re allergic to dead air,” says Demers. “I like to take the time to understand our guests and adjust our approach so that our team meets them where they are and… exceeds their expectations.”

That said, Menu Extra isn't above serving dishes that play on nostalgia, like a McCain-style caramel cake at a previous event—just so long as they've nailed the koji-aged beef first.

“Playfulness has no meaning without technical virtuosity in our kitchen,” Blais says.

Access, independence, and agility

The question of exclusivity isn’t lost on the team. With price points often north of $300 a seat, they know not everyone can pull up a chair.

“I won’t pretend our experiences are for everyone,” Demers says. “That said, we try to keep things accessible through different types of events… Our block parties are designed to be more open and welcoming.”

After being acquired—and later buying themselves back—from the meal kit company Cook It, Menu Extra has returned to full independence, operating from their Mile End ghost kitchen.

“It pushed us to better our operational structure, clarify our vision, and lead us to surround ourselves with collaborators that share our ambitions,” Blais says.

Behind the outfit's refinement lies a reality rarely discussed in glossy food features: running Menu Extra isn’t just about cooking. “We’re still a relatively small team at Menu,” says Blais. “So each one of us wears many hats… supporting our growth, handling the legal side of things, making sure the company is financially sustainable.”

Demers adds: “How small of a percentage cooking and serving actually represents in terms of tasks and responsibilities.”

Seems Menu Extra feels seamless because someone’s working overtime to make it so.

Where they fit in Montreal (and where they don’t)

From its inception, Menu Extra has been sharply styled, visually fluent, and instantly recognizable. That’s the influence of Martin C. Pariseau, a co-founder and the team’s creative director for the first three years. A filmmaker by trade, Pariseau brought the kind of branding precision more often seen in fashion houses or record labels than hospitality.

Menu Extra's been consistent, even 'complete' from day one. Their posters looked screen-printed, their merch covetable, and an Instagram account-cum-cultural moodboard. The food is good, but they demonstrate how the vibe has to be right, too.

That's all the more important when considering how Montreal’s restaurant scene is in flux today: Menu Extra is more interested in what happens between chapters. “I’m not sure where we fit, and that’s fine,” Blais says. “It feels like we’re all pushing in the same direction, with purpose.”

Their aim? Not to be your Wednesday night dinner, but your marker for the moment.

“We want Menu Extra to be a name people think of when they want to highlight a special moment or celebrate a milestone,” Demers says.

After all, the meal may vanish, the memory stays put.